Summary of Sept. 23 board of directors meeting
September 24, 2025
The BPRD board of directors appointed members to the Naming Committee, did not pass tax exemption requests for housing developments, and approved a contract for lighting at Pine Nursery Park at the Sept. 23 meeting. The elected officials also approved a letter of intent with Oregon State University- Cascades related to the Park Services complex next to the growing campus. A video recording is available.
Naming committee
A five-member Naming Committee is appointed by the board of directors to work with staff and advise on park, facility and trail naming opportunities. This year, all five committee seats are expiring. The board reappointed Robin Vora, Rebekah Averette and Jane Dunham to serve a two-year term through September 2027. After an advertised application process, the board appointed two new members that received the top scores from the board of directors. Chad Martin and Mark Johnson will serve for a four-year term through September 2029. Dean Harris was appointed as an alternate member should any member of the committee be unable to fulfill their term.
Tax exemption requests
The board had a split vote (Hovekamp and Owens opposed; Schneider and Schoen in favor; Schiffman absent) on the following tax exemption requests that failed to get a majority vote:
Cascade Landing Application: The proposed project includes five, three-story garden-style walk up apartment buildings and a single-story community center building, with parking. All 98 residential units will be designated for low-income housing. Based upon preliminary calculations by City of Bend staff, the 20-year financial impact to the district of the requested exemption would be $792,848. In addition to the requested property tax exemption, in July, the district approved 69 SDC waivers for the project. Based upon the multi-family unit type, this SDC exemption is valued at $592,641.
Verde Pines Application: The proposed project includes two four-story apartment buildings and one three-story apartment building with associated parking. All 128 residential units will be designated for low-income housing. Based upon preliminary calculations by city staff, the 20-year financial impact to the district of the requested exemption would be approximately $556,445. In addition to the requested property tax exemption, in July, the district approved 75 SDC waivers for the project. Based upon the multi-family unit type, this SDC exemption is valued at $644,175.
Lighting at Pine Nursery Park
As part of the Pine Nursery Phase 5 project, the district evaluated purchasing options for sports field lighting and pickleball court lighting needed for the project. Staff determine that purchasing lighting directly would be beneficial to the project.
With this approach, the lighting will be owner-furnished, contractor-installed (OFCI) meaning the district buys the lighting fixtures directly from the supplier, and the construction contractor installs them as part of the construction contract. To ensure compliance with Oregon public contracting law, the district solicited proposals from vendors offering sports lighting systems under valid cooperative purchasing contracts (ORS 279A.200–220). A committee of staff from different departments evaluated four proposals based on lighting design and specifications, controls integration, ability to obtain certification the International Dark Sky Outdoor Sports Lighting Program, warranty, and price.
The board approved the purchase of sports field and pickleball court lights for the Pine Nursery Phase 5 project through the TIPS cooperative agreement from Siteco Lighting US, Inc. for a total amount not to exceed $1,105,000.
Letter of intent with OSU-Cascades
The district’s Park Services shop on Simpson Avenue is adjacent to OSU-Cascades’ growing campus. The board of directors authorized the executive director to negotiate and execute a Letter of Intent with Oregon State University – Cascades for a right of first offer for the Simpson Shop Complex property if or when BPRD decides to sell the property. A new Park Services shop on Boyd Acres Road is planned, and continued use of the Simpson property will be determined in the future.
The letter of intent also grants BPRD a recorded easement for access to the road system at the Simpson site. This easement allows for all potential district uses, including recreational, facility, or other public purposes.
Natural Resources internship
BPRD hired an intern from OSU-Cascades to conduct natural resources research along the Deschutes River to assess conditions since the river plan was developed in 2021. The plan identified 94 user-created access points along with 25 official access points. Intern Rylin Duster identified 389 user-created access points, a big jump, due in part to her efforts to assess conditions from the water rather than the riverbank. The access points and conditions are impacted by people, dogs and other animals.
The assessment measures conditions over time to inform priority projects for the district, following successful projects at Riverbend South and Miller’s Landing with upcoming work planned at Columbia Park, McKay Park and other future projects.
Grant application
The board adopted Resolution No. 2025-13 supporting the 2025 Deschutes River Trail Natural Area Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant application. In May 2025, the Board of Directors authorized the Executive Director to negotiate and execute a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA) for 47.43 acres of land off NW Putnam Road.
The intent of purchasing the property is to create a future natural area park with soft surface trails, nature and wildlife viewing, directional and interpretive signage, and a restroom. The primary trail will be an extension of the Deschutes River Trail. The property will also serve as a trailhead and trailhead parking for the DRT. Staff have determined that a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) is the best option to partially fund this purchase, and a board resolution is required for the grant application.
Naming policy updated
The board adopted an update to the Park, Facility and Trail Naming Policy with an edit suggested by Director Cary Schneider.
- Updated definitions to ensure alignment of definitions between the policies.
- Updates to the Feature Naming section to provide clarity on the process associated with this type of naming given this information is no longer included in the Gifts Policy. To reflect the inclusion of the Feature Naming process in the policy, the policy name has been updated to include the term “Feature.”
- Updates the Naming Committee appointment process to reflect that two positions are appointed in one cycle and three are appointed in a second cycle two years later. This staggering of appointments aligns with the process for the budget committee.
The board of directors meeting is cancelled for Oct. 7. The next meeting is Oct. 21.
